Device and method for repairing locomotives.



PATENTED- MAY 14, 1907.

R J. B. MIOHARL; v ORVIOR AND METHOD FOR REPAIRING LOCOMOTIVES.

APPLIGATION FILED 0(JT.1-, 1906.

INVENTOR WITNESSES Al/orney rm: Manizls PETERS ca., wnsnmorou, a. y.

No. 853,312. PATENTED MAY 14, 1907'.

J. B. MICHAEL. DEVICE AND METHOD FOR REPAIRING LOCOMOTIVES. v

APPLICATION TILED 0GT.1, 1906.

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UNITED STATES PATENT rrron.

DEVICE AND METHOD FOR REPAIRING LOCOMOTIVES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 14, 1907.

Application filed October 1, 1906. Serial No 336,884.

To all whom it concern/.-

Be it known that I, JOHN B. MICHAEL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Knoxville, in the county of Knox and State of Tennessee, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Devices and Methods for Bepairing Locomotives, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing.

My improvement relates particularly to a device and method for replacing locomotive driving wheel and truck wheel springs and their connections when such parts become weakened or broken.

The object of the invention is to provide means and a method'for the speedy release of the broken or weakened parts and their connections, in order that the engineer and others may easily remove the defective parts and substitute others or insert blocks between the driving or engine truck box and frame for equalizing the load and preventing heating of the parts which would be effected through excessive load or pressure if the load were not equalized. In this connection attention is directed to the peculiar manner in which by means of springs, spring hangers, equalizers, etc, the weight of the locomotive is equally distributed upon the drive wheels, and to the fact that a break or weakening in said system of connections places portions of the load heavily upon certain journals and causes the heating of said journals and sometimes causes injury to other parts.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of the inner face of one of the rails of a railroad track, one of my improved devices being applied upon such rail; Fig. 2 is a sectional plan of the rail and device shown in Fig. 1 Fig. 8 is a section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1 Fig. 4 is a sectional side elevation of a locomotive having a broken spring and having my improved device applied beneath a I drive wheel adjacent the wheel over which is the broken spring.

Referring to said drawings, A is an ordinary railway track rail having a foot, B, upright web, O, and a head, 'D. Upon the head of said rail, and parallel with the latter, is seated my improved device, 1, which may be termed a raising block. Said block has a horizontal face, 2, extending from one end of said block to approximately the middle of the block,.and a sloping face, 3, extending from said horizontal face to the other end of said block. Said block might have a sloping face,

3, at each end; but this would make the block longer than is desired. The block is prefer ably no longer than will permit placing it upon one of the rails between two adjacent wheelsdrivers or truck wheels. For the purpose of making said block light, cavities, 4, may be formed through the lower face of the block.

From the lower portion of one side of the block (preferably the side which is to stand above the inner face of the rail) two hooks, 5, extend downward over the side of the head, D, of the rail and thence beneath said head. Said hooks serve. to prevent said block from sliding away from the middle of the track, and said hooks also prevent the tilting of said block outward away from the middle of the track, the outer, lower edge of said block forming a pivot. The flange, 7, of a wheel, 6, resting upon said block tends to thus laterally tilt or move said block. In this form, said block is efficient without the co-operation of any clamping or other fastening devices. It has so proven in actual service in connection with heavy locomotives. block is light and may be conveniently carried on a locomotive, to be used in any emergency arising while the locomotive'is'making a trip on the road. Heretofore a pair of cumbersome jack-screws have been carried as a part of the tool equipment of all locomotives, for use in making such repairs as have been herein mentioned. Not only have such jackscrews been heavy and cumbersome; but they have always been unsatisfactory, particularly since the advent of the enormously heavy locomotives now being used. For it is difficult to provide effective blocking upon which to rest said jack-screws, and even if such blocking can be secured, it is almost impossible to work the screws for the lifting of such an enormous load.

For such repair of a locomotive by the use of my improved device and method, the broken or weakened springs or accessories of the springs are relieved by taking the load from the wheel nearest such broken or weakened part. This is done by placing my improved raising block beneath a wheel adjacent the wheel nearest said broken or weakened part. This is done by setting the block upon the rail with the sloping face, 3, directed toward said wheel, and then moving the engine, by its steam, in the direction of said block until said wheel rests upon the horizontal face, 2, whereby the frame is Said ICC

raised. Then the wheel nearest said broken or weakened part stands relieved of substantially all its load and the adjacent spring or I the spring hangers or the equalizers may be removed and replaced, or said parts may be raised and blocked up to the proper running position, thereby again equalizing the load on all journals and thus preventing any from heating or other injury due to carrying an excessive load.

In Fig. 4 of the drawings, the spring, 8, is broken and the raising block has been placed beneath the drive wheel, 9, and as said wheel is at the right of the center of gravity of the locomotive, the right hand end of the locomotive is raised, permitting the wheel, 10, which is beneath the broken spring to slide downward in the truck frame,;whereby all strain is removed from the broken spring and the latter and the hangers, 11, connected with said spring may be removed or adjusted for the removal of the broken spring and the insertion of another spring. Should no new spring be at hand, blocking may be placed above the journal box, 12, of the journal, 13, of the wheel, 10, in the, opening, 14, in the engine frame, 15.

I claim as my invention:

1. A raising block having a lower face conforming approximately to the upper face of a railroad rail and having an upper, sloping.

face and an upper horizontal face, and having at one side means for engaging the bottom of the head of a rail, substantially as described.

2. A raising block having a lower face conforming approximately to the upper face of a railroad rail and having an upper sloping face and an upper horizontal face, and having at one side a downward extension adapted to bear against the side and bottom of the head of a rail, substantially. as described.

3. The herein described method of repairing the springs, spring hangers, and equalizers of a locomotive, which method consists in raising the frame by raising a wheel adj acent the wheel nearest the damaged part,

then restoring the parts so as to equalize the load upon the wheels (after the raised wheel has been lowered), substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name, in presence of two witnesses, this 26th day of September, in the year one thousand JOHN B. MICHAEL.' Witnesses:

EDWARD HACKER, CYRUs KEHR. 

